Making Long-Term Care Decisions Easier

By Gene Marrano

CEO Kimberly Whiter says Elder Care Solutions is “bringing together all the professionals that have a say in long-term care.”

Three Louisianans – present and past – including the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder based in Roanoke – have launched a nascent company with large-scale potential, featuring a multifaceted go-to-market plan. Elder Care Solutions uses the tag line Care Cost Analysis, and the focus says CEO Kimberly Whiter is on both those facing their own long-term care (LTC) issues and those in what is known as the “Sandwich Generation” – individuals from 35-55 who are juggling caregiving for children and for aging parents, and often a career.

The current model, which has been in place for a few years now (taking another step when Whiter was hired as CEO earlier this year after consulting), includes a one-time $2500 price tag for the Care Cost Analysis service, which provides a detailed look at a client’s long-term care situation, then presenting viable options to help pay for LTC. It also promises the support of the Elder Care Solutions team for further guidance/ tweaking in the decision-making processes surrounding long-term care issues. Whiter says in many cases families make up that fee within the first month through the costs savings uncovered.

She is exploring alternative models, specifically partnerships with financial planners, so both parties can benefit from the “deep dive” promised by her new company. This is not retirement planning Whiter stresses, although involving financial planners could bring that aspect into the fold. Elder Care Solutions is also talking to employee benefits managers at major corporations – for a few dollars a month envisions Whiter, companies can offer their Care Cost Analysis as a benefit - becoming more tuned in to needs of the current workforce, the majority of which are in the Sandwich Generation she says. Whiter cites her “strong background in inter-professionalism and inter-disciplinary work. That’s a large [factor] in elder care services, because there are a lot of different disciplines that play a role.” That includes financial planning, legal issues specific to the elderly, health care services – and how they all work together. Elder Care Solutions has a special focus on “the financial challenges,” she notes. Bringing mortgage (and reverse) mortgage brokers, community resources and veteran’s affairs specialists into the mix as needed is also part of the client plan.

Most people that have to plan for a family member’s long-term care needs are “on their own,” says Whiter, “figuring out how to navigate that situation.” That’s where Elder Care Solutions hopes to demonstrate that their expertise – available at any point needed – is worth the money spent.

Kimberly Whiter

As the eldercaresolutionsinc.com website develops further (Whiter is overseeing that process with outside vendors), clients will also be able to access a database where answers to many standard questions will be addressed. When needed, outside experts will be included to answer queries from “their own professional silo.” Whiter says an advisory panel “across the United States” is a strong staple of the Elder Care Solutions method.

That sandwich demographic is a growing number and is shouldering the lion’s share of elder care issues says Whiter: “the juggling act this generation is pulling off is stressful, time-consuming, and full of emotion.” After an analysis, Elder Care offers viable options to clients. Having a will or Power of Attorney in place is a good place to start. Are there assets - other than selling a family home – that can be utilized?

Whiter’s remote partners are Richmond, VA-based Fred Bailey, an accredited attorney by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and among the first lawyers in Louisiana to be certified by the state Bar Association for estate planning and administration. The third cofounder is Louisiana-based Ken Keller, an LSU graduate with a background in finance and insurance brokering, described on the eldercaresolutionsinc.com website as “having a real talent for finding solutions to help seniors and their families. The trio met at a conference in 2019. “They had been fine-tuning this idea for a few years,” notes Whiter of Bailey and Keller.

At 38 (and raising two young daughters) Whiter’s background includes medical laboratory science, directing an academic program at-then Jefferson College of Health Sciences, teaching appointments at the VTC medical school and Virginia Western Community College, and on a leadership team for a nationwide education-related startup. As for being a first-time CEO: “it’s some of the most exciting work I’ve ever done. I love strategic planning and connecting with really impactful people who are making a difference out in the world. It’s been great to connect with other CEO’s.”

Being able to work remotely means Elder Care Solutions is thinking nationwide. Whiter calls that a “great asset to a lot of people. We know we are sitting in a space there’s a great need for.” The double graduate from McNeese State University is also working on a doctorate through Liberty, and is grateful, in light of the pandemic, that the business can function online.

“What we’re bringing to families with Elder Care Solutions are holistic approaches,” says Kim Whiter, “together with all of the professionals that have a say [and a stake] in long term care.” For the most part the services are out there she notes, “but when people are left to their own devices … they are going to miss things.”